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Lenovo To Buy IBM's Server Business For $2.3 Billion

Posted by timothy on from the bet-watson-had-this-sewn-up-weeks-ago dept.

itwbennett writes "Well, that was fast. Earlier this week the rumor mill was getting revved up about a potential sale of IBM's x86 server business, with Lenovo, Dell, and Fujitsu reportedly all interested in scooping it up. On Thursday, Lenovo Group announced it has agreed to buy IBM's x86 server hardware business and related maintenance services for $2.3 billion. The deal encompasses IBM's System x, BladeCenter and Flex System blade servers and switches, x86-based Flex integrated systems, NeXtScale and iDataPlex servers and associated software, blade networking and maintenance operations. IBM will retain its System z mainframes, Power Systems, Storage Systems, Power-based Flex servers, and PureApplication and PureData appliances." SlashBI has some words from an analyst about why Lenovo wants the x86 product line more than IBM does.

6 of 160 comments (clear)

  1. $2.3 Billion by globaljustin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So basically Lenovo got a server manufacturer for almost $1Billion less than Snapchat is worth.

    --
    Thank you Dave Raggett
    1. Re:$2.3 Billion by CastrTroy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      When you put it that way, you start to realize how big the bubble is getting in social and other web platforms. A business that's actually taking in revenue (quit a bit, I would guess) is worth significantly less than a web service that has no way of generating revenue, and who's users can switch to a new, almost identical web service tomorrow, if they start charging money or showing ads to generate revenue. Companies like to keep their servers the same, because things (like remote hardware management ex.HP ILO) don't interoperate between different vendors. So they're going to be able to retain quite a few customers as long as they don't change anything, and just keep on producing boxes that work.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  2. Re:Chinese Rule!!! by alexander_686 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    IIRC Lenovo is headquartered in the US and just opened another plant for PCs in the south. I don’t want to dismiss all of the concerns but let us try to put this in perspective.

  3. Re:Thinkpad line by dintech · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A public consumer buying a laptop is one thing, but I can imagine certain blue chip institutions (banks for example) will be slightly less interested in buying servers from Lenovo as opposed to HP. I have some IBM servers on order right now and there isn't usually a lot in it when deciding whether HP or IBM is better for my use case. If it was Lenovo or HP, that decision would probably only go HPs way.

  4. Great by FuzzNugget · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now Lenovo can fuck up that product line too, just like they did with the ThinkPad.

  5. Re:ugly truth, they never stood a chance. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As soon as IBM's real money makers go away, being System z and p. So, never.